Burning Heart
by dragon51116
Summary: A competition held every 5 years, one that tests every ounce of being a pony could contain. One that would allow a pony to join the Wonderbolts? Of course. The sole reason Rainbow Dash entered in a heartbeat. But can she make it in one piece?


BURNING HEART

_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEE-_

_Click._

_Clop clop clop clop clop clop._

_ Phssssssssssssh-rnch. _

_ Brushie brushie._

_ "_Pa-too!" The toothpaste and saliva soaked into the cloud-made sink, causing the white fluffy substance to turn a light blue.

"Okay, seriously? Whatever pony thought that making an entire house out of cloud was a good idea was an idiot!" The rainbow-colored pegasus dropped her toothbrush in the sink, the filly Wonderbolt product sinking a bit into the cloud.

The sun was just rising over the horizon for the snow-covered town of Ponyville, but for Rainbow Dash's house high in the sky, it's been shining through her windows for about 10 minutes. While others on the ground were just getting out of their beds and stretching their limbs, the town cloud-kicker was already done with brushing her teeth and grooming herself for the day to come. But today was different from most, which is why Rainbow Dash was up much before the rise of the sun.

It was winter, near the shortest day of the year. Past Hearth's Warming but still quite a bit before Winter Wrap-Up, smack dab in the middle of winter, making it not only the shortest time of the year but, more-often-than-not, the coldest. And that's why the beginning of the Burning Heart competition is held 3 days before the shortest day, as it is a 7 day competition, ensuring the harshest conditions.

And this is what Rainbow Dash was preparing for. The Burning Heart competition. A competition held every 5 years to test ponies in the most rigorous of ways. 1 earth pony, 1 pegasus, and 1 unicorn win each year, and each of them are allowed to be enlisted in their respective elite teams: The Globe Trotters, the Wonderbolts, and the All-Stars. Ponies from all across Equestria join the competition, expecting fame, fortune, and everything that comes with it. However, nearly all of them have their dreams crushed… And for many others, their lives meet the same fate.

The race begins in Canterlot, being one of the coldest places in the country at that time of year because of being so high on a mountain. The race continues across the north section of the Canterlot Mountain Range until it levels out onto the Equestrian Tundra. This falters and slows down even the toughest competitors, but the "Skating Rink" is much worse. It was named this ever since the first Burning Heart competition because it was thought to be as safe as solid ground but it turned out to be a giant piece of moving ice that occasionally crashed into the sides of the solid tundra. These collisions cause massive sections of the area to break off and possibly even sink because of the odd nature of the water there. More than 50% of the deaths that have occurred in the race occurred here. This is also usually where the Winter Solstice, the shortest day, occurs as well as this area is the midpoint, which further increases the difficulty.

The race continues into a gorge known as Blizzard Alley. Although death in here is infrequent, frostbite, blindness, and broken bones are not only common in this leg of the race, but occurs to more than 50% of the remaining racers. Of the ones that have heard of the horrors in this race, many speculate that insanity is the main factor of deaths here because of the looming canyons on each side, the frequent whiteouts, and intense cold driving ponies off the mental edge. Another reason why most of the ponies that come out of the race are usually not spoken to or heard from.

The last leg of the race isn't declared the hardest due to the fact that if the contestant made it this far, this shouldn't be much harder than the other obstacles. There's no name for this leg as nopony ever speaks of it that survives. Instead of going over the range of mountains near the end of the race, there's a large cavern that goes straight through. It is much warmer than the outside, but the species that reside in it are unknown.

And this is where the story starts. A determined Rainbow Dash getting ready for what she thinks is a for-sure chance to get with the Wonderbolts. However, other ponies, nature, and fate seem to have different plans for her.

CHAPTER 1

Morning of Day 1

Rainbow's journal has now started! I decided to start one of these for the upcoming competition because I know I can become better! I mean, I'm already ALMOST perfect, but that almost isn't good enough! I'm going to be writing in here occasionally on the track before I rest so when I've won the race, I can read back and see where I messed up… If that's even going to happen. That way, when I'm training with the Wonderbolts, I can see how to get better! Those other competitors won't know what hit them!

-Rainbow Dash-

Rainbow Dash struggled to write her entry, but she managed, closing her small journal and flinging it into her saddle bag, followed by her quill. The contents inside rattled slightly as the pony began walking to the front of her cloud-house, food and random items clattering together. The sun was still just rising over the Canterlot Mountains, eyes adjusting to the flood of light as she walked out of the doorway onto her small patio. Looking up, Rainbow saw the clear sky, every speck of cumulus gone from her previous day's work. Looking down, she saw, a mile away, her sweet town of Ponyville, where she usually darted too every day. However…

This day was completely different. The pegasus looked towards the mountains that beheld the city of Canterlot, a place she normally wouldn't even dream of going to except for this event, the Grand Galloping Gala, and the Wonderbolt Derby; all ways to see the Wonderbolts themselves. Her saddlebags were light compared to the time she went up the mountain with her friends to talk to the dragon, but flying would still be more difficult than normal.

"This is the start of a new life, Rainbow. In seven days, you're going to be a Wonderbolt!" With those words, she jumped off the edge of her patio and fell for a few feet before spreading her wings and aiming towards Canterlot and her goal.

Four cyan hooves set down on the cobblestone streets of Canterlot, barely heard over the hundreds of other hooves moving about to get from store to store. Rainbow Dash looked at the never-stopping crowd of "snobs", as she claimed them to be. She saw the occasional hat in Ponyville, but hats weren't only common here in Canterlot, but seemed to be trying to compete with each other on who's the tallest or most colorful one. The outfits were the same way except which one could hit the most ponies on each side and which sparkled the most in the sunlight.

_Wow… These ponies have their noses almost as high as the mountain they live on_, Rainbow thought to herself. She began to trot through the crowd, dodging the ponies that seemed to have no knowledge of her existence. A few knocked into her, but she managed to keep her balance in order to not get trampled. Each one only seemed to be aware of themselves and some type of bright object in the sky only they could see that made them close their eyes in superiority.

After crossing the sea of ponies, Rainbow Dash managed to find a small spot near a restaurant that didn't have many ponies strutting across it. "Alright, now where's the starting line in this dang city?" She put her mouth into her saddlebag, pulling out a map of the immediate area. She first attempted to look at it upright, but she couldn't see the map with it in her mouth and couldn't hold it up with her hooves. Deciding to put it on the ground, she laid it flat and had some troubles holding it down, the map continuously trying to roll itself back up. "Darned hooves!" she yelled at herself.

A superior "Ahem!" was heard from behind the pony, causing Rainbow Dash to turn around quickly, the map curling back up into its desired cylindrical form. The cyan pegasus ignored it, addressing the two formally-dressed ponies in front of her.

"Yeah?" she said harshly, not liking the type of ponies that lived here already.

One of the ponies were a stallion, dressed in a black business-like suit along with a red bow-tie and an exaggerated top-hat, not an ounce of his mane showing. "Ahem, yes, Madame, I would like to know where you got those saddle bags. They do match your cutie mark quite well and seem quite comfortable, if I do say so myself." He retained a complimentary tone throughout his sentence, his chest out and his nose high to seem that much more elegant. The mare next to him simply had a mirror floating in front of her face with magic, trying to beauty herself up.

Rainbow looked at the saddlebags on her side, getting a better look at them. "Well, yeah, they are pretty cool, huh? My friend, Rarity, in Ponyville made them! She's really good at that kind of stuff."

The mare dropped her mirror in shock, looking at Rainbow Dash in dismay. "RRRarity?" She questioned, rolling the R.

"Yeah, Rarity. You know her?"

"Know her?" The mare feigned a sort of partial loss of consciousness, putting her hoof to her forehead. She donned a simple yellow dress, and for some reason, the design seemed familiar to Rainbow. She wasn't wearing a hat, but her mane was styled to resemble one, definitely topping the other ponies in the oddity category. "Yes, she and her friends RUINED the Garden Party here last year! The entrées destroyed! The mud was everywhere! The croquet mallet flung across the-" She stopped mid-sentence, looking at Rainbow Dash with prejudiced hatred, a light bulb going off above her head. "…That was you. It was you, wasn't it? WASN'T IT?"

Rainbow picked up her map quickly and began backing up, putting the map in her pack and looking for a quick way out. "Whoa now, lady! I don't know what you're talking about!"

The stallion put his hoof on the mare's shoulder, trying to comfort her. "Yes, dear. Please do calm down. It was a year ago and there's no reason t-"

The mare pounced at the cyan pegasus, Rainbow jumping up in the air quickly to dodge. "SHE RUINED IT!"

Starting to flap her wings and back off a few feet, Dash looked down at the mare writing on the ground. "Alright, crazy pony. I'm going to let you get your dress dirty while I go find my competition! Have fun, bye!" She darted off, hearing the cries of the mare behind her.

_Phew… That was close_, she thought to herself. _Just when I thought this place couldn't get any weirder._

"WELCOME FILLIES AND GENTLECOLTS! TO THE 35TH ANNUAL BURNING HEART COMPETITION! THE RACE WILL BEGIN IN 2 HOURS! PLEASE FIND YOUR RESPECTIVE REGISTRATION BOOTH AND PREPARE FOR THE RACE!" The announcer was loud both in the press-box and out of the speakers, being clear and annunciating every syllable perfectly so everypony could understand what he was saying, even if the horrible audio output.

"Heh. I bet Princess Luna would make a great sports announcer," Rainbow said to herself.

After an hour of scavenging and map-reading, Rainbow Dash finally found the starting point to the race, every single inch of the area covered by a pony or stand, easily classifying the place as "over-crowded." There weren't just Canterlot citizens, though. Recognizable even in a huge crowd were numerous Manehattanites, Appleloosans, Fillydelphians, and various other city and town residents that had a distinct culture. Similar to the Canterlot citizens in the city, this crowd would still trample you to a pulp if you got in their way. The difference, however, is instead of just ignoring your existence, they pushed you to the side like a piece of trash and said it was your fault.

Luckily, for Rainbow, all she had to do was hover above the crowd and she's home free to go anywhere she wanted, although the air traffic was busy as well. She did just this, floating just above the crowd to where she could lower her hoof and kick one pony in the face if she pleased, but didn't.

Even though it was the middle of winter and Canterlot was much higher than her house, it seemed much warmer in this city, probably because of the sheer number of ponies breathing and walking around. Rainbow realized this, guessing that as soon as the race started, the sudden drop in temperature would chill her to the bone. In her mind, she prepared herself for this, not wanting to drop behind the competition.

The pegasus began looking around the area, trying to spot the registration booth among the sea of vendors of all sorts of merchandise and food. Just like the diversity of the ponies were distinguishable by source of region, so were the vendors. The large number of apple vendors (each somehow believing they had a leg up on the others) was from Appleloosa, the vendors serving any sort of "exotic merchandise" were from Canterlot itself (trying to get the richer ponies to fall for their trap of generic items renamed and sold at higher prices, and the "super-sized" meals were from Manehattan (which were trying to sell the same amount of food for a substantially more considerable sum).

But in the corner of all the diversified chaos was the registration booth, as plain as can be with a purple sign that read, of course, "Registration." Rainbow Dash darted over the crowd to the stand, having trouble with managing to get to the ground to talk to the manager of the stand. After about half a minute of dodging ponies walking past and trying to touch solid ground, Rainbow gave up and flew over the stand, landing on the other side and tapping the manager on the shoulder.

The gray unicorn jumped in surprise, turning quickly to see Rainbow standing behind him. Quickly noticing that a mare with such a vibrant array of color probably didn't pose much of a threat, he wiped his brow from anxious sweat.

"Hey, dude!" Rainbow said welcomingly, extending her hoof. The stallion looked at the hoof like a far-away object for a few moments before shaking it, trying to put on a smile.

"Heh, thank goodness you're friendly. I thought you were going to be like the pony from the last competition that snuck up on me the same way. I'm guessing you're here to sign up for the competition?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. "You got that right! And to win too!"

The unicorn grinned, levitating a piece of paper and a pen in front of him now. "Uh-huh. I bet. I'll mark that on your resume. Name?"

"You know, you don't have to fill that out for me. I can do it myself." The gray pony lowered the paper, giving Rainbow Dash a stern look. "What?"

"I've seen pegasi say the same thing millions of times, and I always get a paper back that's barely legible. I'll fill it out. It'll save a lot of us some trouble."

"Uuugh. Fine. Just tell me what you need to know…"

"Well, that's all for the paperwork!"

"THAT'S ALL?" Rainbow Dash yelled in anguish. "That took probably about an hour! How many sheets of paper do you have?"

The unicorn now picked up all of the papers, the stack noticeably thick, and tapped it against his desk, aligning them. "43 is average for this competition, you had about 35. You're lucky you don't have that many medical problems. I've seen up to 72. But, yes, you're now registered for the race, Rainbow Flash! You can ju-"

"Rainbow Dash," interrupted the pegasus.

"-st go over there and-… What?"

"My name is Rainbow Dash, not Rainbow Flash. You better know it and learn it before you see it all over Wonderbolt posters," she said, beaming with confidence.

There was a small pause, the only audible noise being the rambunctious crowd a few feet away. The booth pony zoned back in, nodding his head in unopposed agreement. "Yeah, whatever, just go over there to the racer tent. Get acquainted with some other ponies before you head on your big adventure, have some fun. It might be the last you have."

"Whatever, dude! I'll be having fun DURING the race! I'll catch you on the flip side!" Rainbow turned around and started flying off, waving towards the nameless pony.

The gray pony muttered, barely audible over the other noises, "Yeah, okay. See you on the front side of the obituaries."

Rainbow chuckled, flying over the crowd to the extremely noticeable, enormous racer tent. "He can think what he wants, but I'll show him."

The area was getting busier by the minute in the booth area, but as Dash got nearer to the competitor tent, the crowd thinned, separating the audience from the players. The tent towered above all the other structures in vicinity; given that the other structures rarely ever stood a few feet taller than the tallest earth pony. It was completely made of purple canvas-like material, built for endurance and heat instead of luxury. There was a thin blanket of snow on the top of the tent whenever the snow could rest there, but it mostly fell on the sides due to the steep angles.

The amount of ponies moving in and out of the tent was scarce, meaning either most of the contestants were already in or many of them are going to be late. Rainbow Dash thought an hour early was the perfect amount of time to get ready; enough to get warmed up but not too much to get tired out. Among the crowd near the entrance of the tent were five ponies standing near each other, and although this normally wouldn't stick out, the cyan pegasus swore she recognized them from-

"DAAASH!" a familiar voice cried out from the same direction as the tent, causing Rainbow to dart towards the location at a faster pace.

"YEEEAAAH! GO RAINBOOOOW! WOOHOO!" three other voices chimed in, all too recognizable. The pegasus began leveling out towards the ground, getting a better view of the group of ponies awaiting her. About 20 yards away, her hooves touched ground, starting to run and slowly coming to a stop, five friendly faces there to greet you.

A pink earth pony bounced up in front of Rainbow Dash, jumping up and down with excitement. "RAINBOW! We need you would be here and I'm SOOOOO glad you are so we can say goodbye on your little adventure because, c'mon, leaving us behind and not saying bye was not cool Dashie!" The pony put her hoof in the pegasus's face accusingly. "We had to find out from Ditzy!"

A purple unicorn nodded, still standing in the same place. "She's right. Ditzy told us that during her morning deliveries she saw you leaving your house towards Canterlot. She told me and I gathered the others immediately. Why didn't you tell us Rainbow?"

An orange earth pony wearing a hat spoke up, putting a hoof to her chest. "Yeah, RD, what were ya thinking leaving us behind?"

Rainbow Dash simply smiled, looking at the group. "Sorry AJ… Twilight… Pinkie… Rarity… Fluttershy… I didn't want all of you to worry about me going in this competition. I know how you all feel about this race and I thought you wouldn't want me going into i-"

"Goodness, darling," Rarity said, flipping her mane slightly for effect. "You do worry about us too much. We didn't want you to go in this ruffian competition, of course, but if you were going to go in, you were going to have our support!"

Fluttershy was hiding behind Rarity and behind her mane as well, keeping her voice hushed. "Uh… Yeah. The least we could do is cheer for you on the sidelines."

Twilight nodded. "Right! We'll be here the entire seven days and you can expect us at the finish line, motivating you."

Rarity wearily interrupted, "Uh, Twilight dear, did you say… seven days? You know I have the boutique to look a-" Twilight turned around and shot the marshmallow pony a stern glance. "Uh, yes! As she said, all seven days!" Rarity fixed her mane, pushing it up slightly with that typical Canterlot "elegance."

"I can't believe you guys came all the way up here just for me!" Rainbow beamed with happiness. "But I have to ask, how did you get up here?"

Twilight chuckled, looking over at Pinkie. "Oh, you would not believe what Pinkie can do when she's motivated."

The pink earth pony hopped once before pulling out from behind her (seemingly, although there hasn't anything to hide the object) a large suitcase. "Yup! And all the while with my party cannon!"

Twilight tilted her head. "Pinkie, that's not your-"

Pinkie tapped a button that was on the side of the suitcase, causing it to pop open and shoot a wagon's load of streamers and balloons while making a very loud, upbeat whistling noise. A few dozen ponies turned their attention towards the six, the group giving an awkward smile all except for Pinkie, who wore a huge grin.

Rarity shook her head, signaling the ponies looking in their direction to turn away now and also acknowledging Pinkie's nature. "Anyway… We came here, Rainbow, not only to see you off, but to give you some things to help you on your journey." Rarity began reaching into her saddlebag, Pinkie and Fluttershy following suit.

"Oh, yeah! Ah almost forgot!" AJ said, taking off her hat to reveal a small object on her head. "You're gonna need this way more than me. It's a nice, little spigot. Yah just slam it intah something like a tree or some ice, and it will pour the sap, syrup, or whatever it has in it out the hole! It's pretty nifty, if yah ask me. Used tah get pure apple juice from apples with it. Best apple juice I ever did have." AJ grabbed it from atop her head and tossed it towards the cyan pegasus, catching it quickly and throwing it into her saddlebag.

Rarity pulled out a small hoof-mirror from her bag with her magic, nicely made with formal designs all along the handle and frame. "Now, I know, dear, that you're not one that is much for looks or beauty, but I do insist on you taking this. You never know when you might need it, and at night…" Rarity's magic pressed a small button near the center of the object, blue lights lit up around the mirror itself. "You can still see with it with this light. I guarantee it will help you, darling." She slipped the mirror into Rainbow's bag herself, not bothering to risk dropping it any other way.

Fluttershy snuck out a few feet and already had already her gift in her mouth. About to speak, she looked down and saw the object in her mouth and squeaked slightly, now moving to Rainbow and putting the gift in her bag before speaking. "I know it's not much, but it's a whistle. If you use it, most of the little creatures you meet along the way will stop what they're doing… It works all the time on Angel… I hope it helps." The timid pegasus shrunk slightly and walked to the back of the group again, hiding behind her mane.

Pinkie began hopping up and down, moving her legs back and forth in mid-air. "OH! OH! ME NEXT!" The next time she landed, she practically teleported in front of Rainbow Dash, a rocket (seemingly from nowhere) in her mouth. Pinkie exclaimed, despite the rocket in her mouth, "It's a rocket! Strap this bad-boy to your back and VROOOOM!" She spun in a circle, moving the rocket a little bit to act like it was flying. "You already fly fast, but y'know, just in case! Plus, it's loud! Everything is better when it's LOOOOOUD!" The pink pony threw the unstable rocket into the saddlebag carelessly, hopping back into her spot.

Finally, Twilight used her magic to pull out a small quill from her bag, her signature purple aura around it. "Rainbow, you're planning on documenting your journeys, right?" Rainbow nodded, smiling. "Good! I would love to read about your adventures. That brings me to my gift: a quill. However, not an ordinary one. I've read how every pony has traces of magic in them, no matter who they are, and Quills and Sofas realized this as well. They developed a quill that, even with that small amount of magic, can still be levitated with any pony's magic. Try it. Just think hard about bringing it towards you."

The quill continued to float there with the purple aura, the pegasus looking at it long and hard. She squinted, trying to focus all of her attention on this small object. Her fast-paced mind attempted to slow down and keep eyes on this task, and it took much of Rainbow's mind to do it. Eventually, after about half a minute, a cyan aura began to radiate inside of the purple one, all before the purple one disappeared… And the quill continued to float. "A-ha! I got it!" the pegasus exclaimed. The object levitated towards her, making residence in Rainbow's pack seemingly by itself.

Twilight smiled, amused by Rainbow's excitement. "I'm glad it works. I've read how hard it is to hold quills with hooves. However, there's one more thing this quill can do." Twilight began looking unyielding, the tone of her voice turning serious as well. "This race isn't supposed to have weapons, but I've also read about how dangerous it is. In case you're ever in serious danger, think real hard about defending yourself while holding the quill. I'm not entirely sure what it will do, but the store manager said it would help, and he seemed to know what he was talking about."

Rainbow chuckled, still wearing a smile. "Heh, danger? Danger's my middle name, Twilight. Anything that's out there, I can deal with it, don't you worry!"

The purple unicorn couldn't help but give in a little to Rainbow's enthusiasm, grinning. "Alright Rainbow, but be careful."

AJ nodded, putting her hat back on. "Yeah, RD. Yah better come back in one piece or I'll beat yah into more!"

Scoffing with playful arrogance, Rainbow began walking towards the entrance of the test. "Heh, I'd like to see you try!"

Rarity spoke up, waving as the pegasus started entering the tent. "We'll see you at the starting line, dear!"

"ATTENTION RACERS. THE RACE WILL BEGIN IN 20 MINUTES. PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE CONTESTANT TENT NOW AND PREPARE FOR YOUR DEPARTURE." The speaker trembled with the amount of volume it put out, residing a few meters away from Rainbow's cot.

_Ugh, they think they could turn it up louder_? the cyan pony thought to herself while rubbing her ears. She laid back on her cot, sighing contently at the events unfolded so far. No real setbacks yet, got 5 gifts from her best friends, and the race of her life would start in just short of half of an hour.

Rolling onto her side, she reached over her small bunk to her saddlebag, opening it to look at its contents. Other than the five gifts she just received, she also had her journal and old quill. Some other items included a few pieces of food, a small container of water, a picture of the Wonderbolts, and a small toy she kept through all of Flight School. It never failed her once if she had it on her.

A hoof suddenly slapped her own and closed the pack. "RAINBOW DASH!" The pegasus didn't expect either incident, causing her to fall off the bed and onto the floor. She rolled on the ground for a moment before looking up at her visitor, slightly dazed from the abrupt fall. "What are you doing here?"

Upon being able to see the figure, a gray mare's face looked down at Rainbow in anger. Her mane covered her left eye, striped with red and orange. Rainbow struggled to sit up but managed, pushing the mare to the side slightly. She was now able to get a better look at the mare, studying her up and down. The mare's mane was long in the back and flattened in the front and back. Her tail was tipped in four different points, the points exemplifying where the stripes of colors were placed. Her coat was slightly scruffy along with her wings' feathers, but her mane and tail were well-kept.

"Wha-… Who are you, might I ask?" Rainbow questioned, getting to her hooves.

The mare put a hoof to her chest, acting hurt. "Oh, Rainbow, you don't remember me?" she said strikingly. "Why, Dashie, from Flight School?" The cyan pegasus still looked puzzled, giving the mare an odd look. "C'mon, you don't recognize me?"

Rainbow shook her head, stating, "I don't think I've ever seen you before."

The mare laughed almost eerily, looking up to the ceiling. "Oh, you don't? Does Morning Star ring the bell?" The name struck Dash like an arrow, causing her mind to plummet into a time she wished to forget.

_"Hey, Morning Star, you know why you're named that? Because you never see a star in the morning!" A claw kicked the gray mare in the side as she lay on the ground, bleeding from her nose slightly. "Just like no one should see you!" Another kick was performed, causing her to curl up in a ball in pain, tears starting to run down her face. _

_ "Gilda, what are you doing?" Rainbow yelled, just now landing in the area. "How could you-"_

_ "Morning Star here thought it would be hilarious to play a little prank on me."_

_ "What did she-"_

_ "Does it matter, Dash? All you need to know is she shouldn't have done what she did and she's paying for it." She went in for another kick when she was interrupted._

_ "It wasn't me," the mare said, desperation in her voice. Her body quivered with pain, attempting to stand up now._

_ "I know it was you, runt!" Gilda delivered another kick, causing Morning Star to collapse again._

_ "Gilda, stop it!"_

_ "What, you're siding with her? Are you going to do anything to stop me?"_

_ A silence filled the air, the gryphon and the pegasus locked in a death stare._

_ "ANYTHING?"_

_ The silence continued to hang in the air like a deathly fly, Morning Star quietly sobbing amidst the chaos. The fly stayed there for a few more moments before another kick was heard, possibly breaking a rib._

"And you just stood there," Morning Star said strikingly, shaking her head at Rainbow. "Stood there like you couldn't do anything."

Rainbow backed up a little bit, landing on the cot. "Star, that was years ago. I'm a completely different pony n-"

"Should I care?" she asked crossly. "That night changed me. Why should I care if you changed?" Rainbow backed up more on her cot, expecting Star to assault her. "Oh, Dashie, I'm not going to do anything to you. Here, at the least. You're not supposed to hurt other racers out on the course, they say…" The gray pegasus began walking out of Rainbow's resting area calmly, acting as if nothing was wrong. "But you also weren't supposed to hurt other ponies in Flight Academy. Rules are meant to be broken." She turned the corner, whipping her tail like a superior before disappearing from view.

Rainbow's heart beat was slightly faster than normal, honestly expecting a beating that she probably deserved. She put her hoof to her own chest, checking the rapid beat, feeling slightly dazed.

"Don't worry about her, Rainbow," a voice said a few feet away. Dash jumped again, turning towards the source in a jiffy. "And don't worry about me, either; I know your name from eavesdropping on your conversation." A sage green earth pony made his way past the curtains that separated Rainbow's area and the adjacent's.

Rainbow scoffed, turning away from the stallion. "Heh, you know it's rude to listen on others' conversation?"

The stallion chuckled slightly, beginning to lean on the nearby wall. "Not hard to hear when you're separated by curtains, you know?" He spoke with a certain confident superiority, similar to the Canterlot ponies but much more relaxed and soothing. His words seemed empathetic instead of insulting. "By the way, my name is Barrel Drive. Just letting you know because I have a feeling we'll be meeting again in the race."

A buzz sounded throughout the tent, signaling the race would begin in 15 minutes. "And that's my call to bother some other pony. Relax for your last few minutes, you'll need it." The pony as quickly left as he came, leaving a confused Rainbow Dash on a cot to think about what just happened.

Noon of Day One

The race is about to begin within a few minutes. This is a big deal… I'm actually feeling kind of nervous… Nervous that I won't beat my expected time in the race! I bet I can do this race in 5 days, easy! Anyway, I actually thought about taking some notes as well since Twilight wants to read this when I'm done. Why not, right?

Met two interesting ponies today. Well, re-met one. Morning Star, one I have to look out for. She seemed like she wants some payback for what happened in Flight School. Also, that Barrel Drive colt? I don't know what to think of him. He kind of just came in and left quickly, and he seemed REALLY odd.

Not much to add to this right now. Rainbow, out!

-Rainbow Dash-

"WELCOME, EVERYPONY, TO THE 35TH ANNUAL BURNING HEART COMPETITION. THE RACE WILL BEGIN WITHIN A FEW MINUTES. PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS AS THE DEPARTURE SPEECH MADE BY PRINCESS CELESTIA HERSELF SHALL BE CONDUCTED. WE ASK YOU TO KEEP YOURSELF AND ANY FOALS QUIET DURING THIS CEREMONY. THANK YOU."

All of the racers were lined up at the starting line, filling up an enormous space. Pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies, from Canterlot to Manehattan to Appleloosa, all in one place to compete. There were 1054 ponies at that starting line, not quite reaching a new record but close to the record of 1106. They moved around in the crowd, trying to get ahead of the others in the jumble of contestants, while the smarter ponies stuck to the back, knowing a 7 day race wouldn't usually be judged by inches and getting trampled within the first minute wasn't good.

The princess herself walked in front of the large crowd of equines, as calm as ever. Bleachers lined the beginning track and the seats were filled to the brim with ponies as well, viewing the sport from a safe distance. The packs settled, the noise reducing to a few quiet voices among the silent mass. Celestia raised her head, preparing to speak.

"I welcome you all, my little ponies, to the Burning Heart competition." Her voice rang out over the crowds with ease yet still maintained a calm, soothing, maternal feel to the sound. "The 35th one, at that. 175 years of this tradition, and still running strong. And, like the tradition, I hope every single one of our contestants run strong in this race. Three ponies. One pegasus. One unicorn. One earth pony. They shall be rewarded for finishing this race among the top without any prejudice.

"Now, as some of you may know, we hold a special race every 5 competitions. This one is no exception. I'm going to keep this speech short and sweet, like most of you like your cupcakes." Some of the audience members laughed, keeping the mood light. "This race, we are doing something to give hope to all that all lost. To celebrate the return of Princess Luna…" The small alicorn walked up next to her sister, her mane sparkling and flowing much like the taller white pony towering above her in both volume of voice and height. "We are throwing Equestria into a seven day darkness to show everypony that even in the darkest of times, you can still your way to your goal." Both the bleachers and contenders began conversing among each other, wary of the challenge that the adjustment set. Rainbow stayed calm, though, confident that it wouldn't affect more than the others.

"Luna, you ready?" Celestia asked. The violet alicorn nodded, both of them looking towards the sun in the sky now. Their horns began glowing with their trademark aura, larger than any other pony's aura anypony has seen before. Controlled by the two relatively small being, the sun began to move much faster than imaginable. The day went fast-forward, some of the snow on the ground quickly melting from the increase in heat and then some water froze from the sudden drop as well. The sun was across the horizon in less than 10 seconds, causing some of the crowd to start panicking. The moon was quickly raised to follow, the gentle moonlight bright enough to light the immediate surroundings but not much farther. Rainbow thought this was her chance to get ahead when everypony was distracted, but before she could start getting ahead, the two alicorns moved to the side as a pegasus, floating a few yards above the ground, pulled out a small contraption.

"READY!" Rainbow readied her body quickly, placing her hooves firmly on the ground to prepare for her quick head start. The pegasus that held the contraption held it up in the air and pointed it towards the black day sky, stars twinkling where some clouds were moments ago.

"SET!" Her torso lowered to the ground, allowing her to be more aerodynamic as she was about to blast off ahead. Her heart was racing at a million beats per second, her vision slightly dizzy from the adrenaline of the moment. This was the beginning of her next chapter of her life.

"GO!"

_**BANG!**_


End file.
